


Under The Veil :: Undertale

by trepidan_dreamer



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Attempted Murder, Chef Papyrus, Death, Diary, Dom Chara/Sub Flowey, Emotional Trauma, Evil Flowers, F/F, F/M, Female Chara, Hateshipping, Implied Referenced Suicide, Implied Self-Harm, Insecurity, M/M, Male Frisk, Murder, One-sided Sansby, Spirits, Village on Mount Ebott, Violence, if theres any charisk itll be only slight, implied alcoholism, its pretty bad until like 3 chaps in, just stick around hmm?, mostly sfw, pacifist, that aint a ship thats just their everyday relationship, them tags got dark, trigger warning, tw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-21 23:10:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 29
Words: 15,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6061645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trepidan_dreamer/pseuds/trepidan_dreamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk Deltore, a young boy living in the quiet town of Cherrywood, overhears talk from two merchants about how strongly he resembles a girl named Chara who used to live in the village. He learns that she ran away to the neighboring town of Iodi and was never seen again. This spikes the boy's interest and he decides to find her, even if it kills him. >maybe Charisk> </p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Memory

A chilly breeze ruffled Frisk's long brown hair as he bounced to and from each shop booth with the crate of eggs he was supposed to sell. Of course, he was but a child, and selling the eggs was much less fun than a game of how long he could keep them intact.

As he passed one of the booths, an older merchant lady murmured to her companion, "Doesn't he remind you of that girl from so long ago?"

The man turned his head to observe Frisk, who had now stopped and faced their booth. "The girl that ran away?"

The woman nodded.

"Oh yes. They had virtually the same personality," recalled the man. "Remember how she would always stop over here to buy something, even though she seemed so quiet and sad all the time? Even in the rain she would come to our setup."

Frisk's eyes widened in excitement. "What was her name?" he asked.

"Hm, I can't seem to remember."

He looked downcast for a split second but perked up when the woman started speaking. "Wasn't it Char? Or Chara?"

"Ah!" Recognition flooded into the man's wrinkled features and dark brown eyes. "Yes, Chara."

Frisk set the egg crate down and took a seat on it. "Tell me about her! She sounds really cool and nice!" he demanded.

The shopkeepers shared an amused glance. "Well," began the woman, "she was about thirteen years old. Lived in an old bungalow on the side of the mountain with her parents. She was an only-child and didn't have many friends at school, so life for her was a bit hard, but she came to us every day no matter the conditions. Sweet girl, just misunderstood. The majority of the shopkeepers assumed she was abused," she added. "Never did see much of those parents of hers."

"But one day"- the man picked up where she had left off- "she disappeared. After a few days, we received word from Iodi, the town further up the mountain, that a young girl fitting her description arrived there a day before the letter came. They kept us in touch for about another week, before a devastating message arrived. Chara had disappeared. Again."

The woman continued. "They reported that she was last seen near a deep pit in the northernmost part of the village by another girl, a little ballerina. The girl said Chara was standing near the pit and then began climbing down into it. The ballerina was scared and ran away to get help, but no one believed her. After that, six more kids went missing, including the aforementioned girl who witnessed Chara descending into the hole. Then, if I'm correct, the whole town was abandoned, for fear of their own children's safety."

Frisk's eyes hardened with determination. "I wanna go meet her!"

"Sweetie, she's probably not down there." Frisk whirled to see his mother smiling at him sadly. "Besides, I don't want you going anywhere near that town. Come on, dear, let's go home. And promise me you won't go after Chara?"

The boy blinked slowly. "Okay, Mom," he replied.

That was a lie.


	2. Truth

Frisk bounced along after his mother. She had taken the egg crate and carried it in strong arms while her son downed the glass of milk she bought him on the way back.

They were ascending the dusty path to the small home when his mom spoke up. "Frisk, honey, you aren't going to search for Chara, are you? It would be a treacherous journey, and... There's something the merchants didn't tell you."

He perked up excitedly. "What was it?"

"Well, son, Chara... she's dead. The townsfolk in Iodi sent us another telegram saying a child emerged from a pit carrying her body, and the child died later in the day."

Frisk blinked slowly. So if he could slip away, he wouldn't be able to find the girl? 

He was a kid. He didn't understand death very well. All he knew was that it meant you couldn't hug the person who died anymore, and they would no longer be there, but he hadn't been able to grasp what it really symbolized. 

"How did she die?"

Frisk's mother set the egg crate in the outdoor icebox and wiped her hands before replying. "They thought the kid had killed Chara himself."

"What did they look like?" Frisk persisted.

"Chara had dark brown hair and the prettiest green eyes. She always looked like she was blushing." With a little laugh, she continued, "She had a striped shirt, just like you and the little boy that carried her into Iodi. He, on the other hand, sounded like a goat monster. The townsfolk told us he had curly white hair and green eyes. Oh, and the two of them wore matching lockets. Red hearts."

Frisk had been absorbing this information. He knew he would find Chara, even if he died himself.

-

On a chilly March morning, he slipped out of the house without a sound and ran in the direction of Iodi. His mom had forgotten about their conversation from early October and hopefully wouldn't remember when she discovered that her son was gone.

To get out of Cherrywood, one had to walk through the shop stalls. Frisk decided it wouldn't be a half bad idea to buy a peach or two. He handed the coins to the kind merchant, but then she asked a question.

"Frisk, where are you going?"

He took a bite out of one peach to stall for time while he thought up an answer. "I'm going to pick flowers down in Laureth," he lied. Laureth was a town farther south on Mount Ebott and, as implied, was full of flowers and orchards, one of the leading agricultural villages.

Since the town was only a mile or two down the mountain, the merchant shrugged, paying no mind. "Have fun, dear."

-

By midday, Frisk was seeing dusty signs along the side of the even dustier, overgrown 'road.' After cleaning one up a bit he discovered it read 'Iodi, 2 miles.'

_That's it, then. I'm almost there._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw the iodi people were prolly like "omg we dont wanna scare those softhearted cherrywood people with our dumb legends" and said that asriel was a child kk


	3. Journey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> theres a skyrim reference can u sniff it out 'w'

A telltale pile of salt surrounded the sign. 'Iodi,' it read. 'Population 6-' The number after the six had been scratched out.

Sure enough, the place was indeed a ghost town. There were a couple of houses along what could have been a village road, one standing among a peach tree grove, and a few more farther away. There couldn't be more than 15 homes. The peach trees and golden flowers planted in front of the one house, however, appeared to be freshly watered, and now that he thought about it, the house wasn't as dusty as the rest.

Frisk brushed it off and decided to further explore the abandoned village. As much as he looked, he couldn't find the alleged hole anywhere. Could someone have been mistaken? Perhaps it wasn't even in the village, or maybe hidden somewhere.

As he was contemplating this, a gentle hand rested upon his shoulder and he heard a soft voice. "Excuse me? Are you looking for something?"

Frisk whirled to see a tall girl dressed in dark blue. She had long dark brown hair and tan skin, and wore her hair in a low ponytail. "I apologize for startling you," she said in her motherly tone. "My name is Tori. I come here every day to see if any humans are wandering about. You are the first to return to Iodi in a long while. Would you like a meal?" she continued. "I have plenty of food. I visit our neighboring village, Whiterun, once a month to shop."

The boy tipped his head as Tori took his hand and led him back along the path. _Probably to that house by the peach trees. She does talk a lot,_ he realized, _but that could be helpful._

They arrived at the house just as Frisk thought. Tori promptly made him wash his hands before sitting him down at a polished table. After a moment of preparation in the kitchen (and much humming), she emerged with two plates, two sandwiches on the first one and one on the other.

She pushed the plate with two towards Frisk. "Eat, my child. I do not expect you to explain what you are doing here on an empty stomach."

Frisk followed her advice and finished his sandwiches within two minutes. Then, he began telling her his Chara-story, as he was beginning to call it in his head. 

"My mom and two shop owners in town told me a story about a girl named Chara. She ran away from Cherrywood to Iodi and lived here for a while. Then, she fell down a hole, and I heard that she died. Do you know anything about her?" he added hopefully.

Tori looked a bit taken aback at this question, but seemed to think about it anyway. "Hmm, let's see. Yes, yes, I think I do remember a girl named Chara. Green eyes, brown hair, right?" At Frisk's excited nod, she continued. "A boy named Asriel brought Chara to his home one day and told his mother she had fallen and needed help. Certain events progressed, and Asriel's parents adopted Chara as their own daughter. However..." She paused to wipe her face. "However, one day, the girl got sick. She wanted Asriel to bring her to the surface so she could see the pretty golden flowers one last time. But, she died, and Asriel had to bring her back, but then--"

Tori cut off abruptly. "It's a rather tragic tale. Pardon me, my child, but why are you oh-so very interested in her?"

Frisk gave an evasive shrug, sensing Tori didn't want to tell him the next part of the story. "I was told I reminded some of the townspeople of her and wanted to meet her. She sounded cool." He smiled.

"I see." There was silence while Tori ate her sandwich, and then she stood. "Well, now that you are here, I assume you would like to see the fated hole, wouldn't you?"

The boy's blue eyes grew wide. "Oh, could I?"

"Certainly! But remember, once you go in, you can't come out." Tori sighed mournfully. "Are you positive you want to go?"

Frisk nodded excitedly.

"If you make a wrong choice, a wrong decision, even a wrong footstep... They-- ASGORE-- will kill you. Do you understand, my child? You are entering the underground world at your own risk, and I will be able to help you only partway through your journey."

"I don't care! I'll do whatever I can to be able to meet Chara!" he persisted.

A sigh from Tori. "Well, alright. Follow me." She took hold of his wrist again and led him hastily through the village. The way to the hole was far, but Tori assured him that it was still in the boundaries of Iodi, and he didn't know why but he trusted her.

At last, they arrived. The hole was indeed a very deep pit, rocky at the edges and plunging straight down into pure darkness with only a single golden light shining at the bottom. Tori pointed this out. "That is the flower bed. It is most likely where you will land when you go in. It's really soft and you shouldn't be injured, but in case you are, go into the room straight across and I will come to help you."

Frisk was still a bit confused, however. "How do I get in?"

"Well..." Tori bit her lip. "You have to fall in. There's no other way to do it. Chara only made it a few rocks down before she tripped on a vine and fell. But don't worry, my child. Make it onto the flower bed and into the room, and you will be safe."

The boy paced the sides of the hole, finally making a decision. "Alright, I'll do it."

He let a breeze carry him into the abyss and off his feet, where the overwhelming adrenaline promptly put him into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeahso like tori is prolly a hologram or something   
> like  
> maybe toriel and sans got together and were like "we should do something to help the surface people" so sans made a holographic clone of toriel and gave it her memories idk but that would be cool


	4. Secret

Frisk didn't know how long it had been since he fell. He woke up, surprisingly not that sore, and stood. The golden flowers tickled his legs. He stood up and scanned the room, looking up as a test, then seeing he couldn't see the sky. There was a thick fog over the pit. The rest of the room was just dirt, clay, and rock, and so he decided to move on to the next area.

It was a dark room, almost too dark to see. Frisk was about to sit down and wait for Tori when a high pitched voice reached him.

"Howdy!"

He couldn't see where it was coming from, and this unnerved the boy slightly.

"Oh, ya can't see me? Sorry!" Then, a little yellow flower appeared in front of him. "Anyway, howdy! I'm Flowey, Flowey the Flower! It's been so long since a human has fallen down. You must be so confused!" The flower's eyebrows creased in concern. "Don't worry, I'll help you!

"You see that heart?" Flowey glanced at Frisk's chest, and the boy looked down. A small, red heart was floating in front of him. _Oh. Not weird at all._ "That is your **soul** , the very culmination of your being! Your soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain lots of LV! What's LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course!"

Flowey smiled, but there was no warmth in it. Frisk wanted to run. Something wasn't right about this character. Why did Tori ask him to come down here? 

"You want some LOVE, don't you?" 

_No._

"Down here, LOVE is shared through... little, white, FRIENDLINESS PELLETS! I'll share some with ya! Go ahead, catch as many as you can!" A few long, white projectiles embedded themselves in the ground next to Frisk, surrounding him.

" **Y O U   I D I O T. IN THIS WORLD, IT'S KILL OR _BE_ KILLED**!" His face had contorted into something terrifying. _No, no, no, what did I do? Get me out of here!_

**"DIE!"**

Frisk never thought he would hear a flower laugh.

He was positive Flowey would've killed him, but a fireball interrupted him. The flower skittered away, and in his place, a woman resembling a goat appeared. She wore a dark blue and purple dress with white sleeves. "Greetings. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I come here every day to- Oh!" She covered her mouth with a paw. "My child! I did not expect you here so quickly! Come with me, you must be so hungry." 

She took his hand and led him down the corridor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry this was written as mostly a filler chapter pls dont be mad


	5. Hidden

Toriel offered him a small lunch, but if anything, Frisk was tired. He asked if he could sleep first, and she agreed to the offer, showing him to a small but homely bedroom with dark salmon-pink wallpaper.

He stumbled onto the bed and slept heavily, awaking around ten am the next day. Faint sounds from the kitchen reached his ears. Maybe Toriel was making breakfast.

While the boy waited, he decided to look around in the room. He found some old, uninteresting toys, several shoes of various sizes, and a wardrobe stocked with striped shirts much like his own. A careful inspection of the bed revealed a book hidden underneath.

Frisk reached forward to retrieve it. The journal proved to be a black leather diary, and when he opened it, the name 'CHARA' appeared in faded blue ink in the front cover.

_I found her diary! This is it!_

He opened it to the first page. There were slight wrinkles on it, as if someone had been crying and then the tears dried. Hesitantly, the boy read the compact, small handwriting.

March 13, 199x   
I hate bullies. I really do. I was in the science room working on a project and then they came in and grabbed my arms and dumped me in a cabinet and locked it. I had to wait two hours for the janitor to come along with the key. ____...I hate this world. I wish there were a way to  ** reset ** . But can I, really, when everything is so real?

His childish mind tried to make sense of the text. The shopkeepers had been right: Chara had been abused, although not at home as they assumed (unless that was further into the diary). She obviously hated the world, too...

Frisk flipped through the rest of the diary. It was almost completely full of entries, expanding over a timespan of about two years. _Good. The more I can find out about her, the better._

He had hardly begun reading the next entry when Toriel knocked on the door. Frisk quickly slid the book back under the bed and stood up. "Yes?" he asked.

"Frisk, my child, it is time for battle training."

The motherly goat-woman seemed to see his shock and rephrased herself quickly. "I mean-- well, there is no danger involved, but... Come with me. You will learn more when we arrive."

Frisk followed her hesitantly. Battle training? Could this have anything to do with Flowey's kill-or-be-killed philosophy? _He did say something about little white pellets. Maybe those have to do with battle? I hope it's easy._

Eventually, they reached a small room with several ways out. Frisk stood in front of Toriel, his plain confusion showing on his face.

The goat-woman smiled at him apologetically. "Oh, my child, watch. I forgot to explain this to you." She proceeded to walk around the room until a small frog like monster hopped up to her.

"This is a Froggit," she called. "Watch carefully." Toriel knelt in front of the small monster and intoned softly, "You look very nice today."

Froggit didn't understand what she said, but was flattered anyway.

Toriel stayed still, and Frisk was shocked to see the Froggit attacking her! Well, not quite an attack, but flies were floating towards her glowing white soul. However she dodged them easily and then spared the frog.

Walking back over to Frisk, she gave yet another smile. "See? Easy, is it not? You try."

He mimicked what Toriel had done, walking around and letting something approach him. However, instead of being a Froggit, the monster was a small moth like creature that seemed to be crying.

Frisk glanced to Toriel helplessly. He didn't know what to do!

But the woman waved a hand forward encouragingly. Frisk shrugged and decided to try to spare the creature first, which actually worked. It disappeared and left a few gold coins behind.

This went on for a while until the boy had collected a decent supply of coins. Then, Toriel took his hand and led him to one of the adjoining rooms, saying, "You can buy a treat."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bad ending spot but wHO CARES


	6. Home

The sign read, "Spider bake-sale! Eat food made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!"

That last part didn't seem too appealing, but Toriel assured Frisk it was merely put in to give the spiders' motto a ring. 

The boy shrugged and took seven gold coins. Since he couldn't see anywhere else to put them, he placed them in the web. Some spiders crawled down and gave him a donut. 

Toriel seemed satisfied. She bought a jug of spider cider and then they went back to her house, where she put the drink in the fridge and let Frisk eat his donut.  Afterwards, he, of course, went straight to his room to finish reading the diary entry. He settled on the bed and opened the black leather book.

March 15, 199x  
Oops, I never did say anything about myself. Sorry not sorry. Well, I'm thirteen and I got this diary as a birthday present last month. It's sort of funny. My birthday is on Valentine's Day, but I have no love to give anyone. Haha. Some people call me a pessimist-

Frisk jumped up and ran into the living room. "Mom, what's a pessimist?"

Toriel looked delighted at being called 'mom,' and answered the question. "A pessimist is someone who always thinks negatively. Why might you ask, my child?"

"No reason." With that, he went back in his room and flopped on the bed.

-and they're right. I've not learned how to be the happy person everyone thinks I could be. I've been bullied at the same school for three years, my parents are never around, when they are they're abusive. Why shouldn't I view the world in grayscale?

He comprehended this new knowledge, compiling everything he knew about Chara to come up with a basic sketch of her personality. 

The girl had hated everything in existence. Probably her parents and schoolmates had put a false philosophy in her head, and so her view on the world had changed drastically. There was no love. There was no friendliness. Only hate. 

Wait, what? How could he imagine this? He was only ten!

Maybe some other being was putting the ideas in his head.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its short im sorry


	7. Settle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> frisk likes pie

Frisk took a moment to dwell on this. Was it possible Chara herself was possessing his thoughts, feelings, and by extent, mind, at the moment?

It seemed a bit far-fetched, but he had always been a sheltered child. He wasn't allowed to play with the other village kids until he turned seven; he had been taught to respect animals, people, and property; he had never been bullied and hardly knew what that was; and he only barely knew what abuse was. Plus, he was only ten. He wouldn't've been able to think of that on his own without someone's help.

Toriel then opened the door, cutting into his thoughts. "Time for dinner, my child."

Frisk hadn't been paying attention, but now that he thought about it, there was a pleasant smell in the air. He jumped off the bed, hiding the diary under his pillow and following her into the dining room.

Toriel said a short prayer first. Then she set two bowls of spaghetti on the table.

As Frisk eagerly dug in, she smiled. "I'm glad you like it. A friend of mine's brother made it for a party, and he gave me the leftovers to share around."

The boy finished within minutes, and Toriel ate her small amount quickly before going into the kitchen and returning with a butterscotch-cinnamon pie.

"I thought we could celebrate your arrival!"

His mouth watered. It had been so long since he had eaten a dessert, especially a well-cooked one.

Toriel noticed and cut him an extra-large piece. "All for me?" Frisk asked, wide-eyed as he stared down at the pie.

The woman nodded. "You could use some meat on your bones," she teased.

Frisk's blue eyes lit with delight and gratitude. "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!" he exclaimed as he began eating.

  
-

Later that night, he lay awake in his room reading the diary. The bedside lamp was on and Toriel had given him permission to stay awake for thirty minutes before bedtime.

March 26, 199x  
I was doing some extra credit science work in the lab today, and guess what? Being a nerd can get valuable informaton! Two of the new girls were talking about Iodi. I heard there's a deep pit there, with a whole hidden world at the bottom! Of course, it's probably a mere figment of the imagination, but I have to see if it's real.

The next entry was incredibly short.

March 28, 199x  
My dog 'mysteriously' went missing while my dad was mad at me. That settles it. I'm leaving.


	8. Anticipation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bad things. basically flowey&& chara meet up outside the throne room and discuss arson.

Her face was obscured by the darkness of the hall, not giving away a thing as he tried to find the words to explain what he had found.

"He's here."

"Who?"

"There's..."

"Cmon, Asriel, spit it out," she snapped.

He followed her order quickly. "There's a human."

Silence, for a long, long time. Then, quietly: "It isn't April Fools. Get real."

"But I am! He's a little kid, actually looks a little bit like you... Chara... Are you listening?"

She sounded dazed when she spoke. "I don't believe it. Won't believe it. Where is he? Do you even know?"

He nodded. "He was on the way to Toriel's when I encountered him."

"I suppose it'd be too much to hope that you killed him. No, you didn't, or why would you be telling me anyway? Well, you know what we have to do, right? We have to get rid of him."

"How?" he asked eagerly.

**"T e l l   m e ,   A s r i e l.   D o   y o u   l i k e   f i r e s ? "**

A large grin of anticipation lit up the little flower's face.


	9. Arson

*the next day*

April 4, 199x  
I made it! I made it to Iodi. It's a rather small town, but it feels homely somehow. I like it here. And guess what? I already made a friend, a blonde girl named Gabriella. She's a dancer or something; the child is a bit too girly for my taste, but she did promise to introduce me to the rest of her group, which sounds promising. Who knew having a friend could be this fun? Too bad I'll have to leave them soon. I'm here for the underground world, and nothing can stand in my way.

_Wait, wasn't the girl who saw her fall a ballerina-?_

The door slammed wide open. Toriel stood there, a frightened expression on her face. She ran forward and swept up Frisk in her arms before dashing out of the house, whispering soothing words to him even though she was obviously terrified.

"Mom? Where are we-"

She abruptly stopped and placed him on the ground so that he was looking away from the house. "Nothing. Nothing is wrong, it is just- We-" 

Frisk stared at her, starting to get nervous himself. "What's going on?"

"See for yourself." Toriel allowed him to turn around, and when he saw the house up in flames, he couldn't've been more glad that the diary was safely tucked under his arm.

She smiled sadly. "I must go warn the other monsters of the fire, in case more like it occur. Be good, my child." 

As soon as she left, a thought hit him.

_Toriel uses fire magic, right? And if she does, there was no way this was a stove accident. It wasn't an accident relating to her magic, either, because she probably used it her whole life and wouldn't be careless enough to make a mistake like that. So it must be arson!_

A tiny yellow flower popped out of the earth in front of him.

"You think you'reso clever, don'tcha? You think you're **above consequences**! Well, news flash, buddy- YA AREN'T! I know what you're trying to do. **We** know. And you aren't making it any farther unless you **give me your SOUL**!" On the last few words, a ghostly voice combined with Flowey's.

Frisk trembled in terror as the small red heart floated in front of his chest. With a maniacal laugh, Flowey shot two volleys of the same long seedlike projectiles he had used before. As the second group clamped down on his soul, an overwhelming wave of agony hit him, and he fell to the ground. Dark spots blurred his vision before solidifying into a steady black sheet.

_Did I just get killed by a flower?  
_

**| SAVE File Loaded |**

Frisk heard a deep voice fill his ears. It was rich, and if it were personified, it could've been honey. "Our fate rests in your hands! Chara! Stay determined..." 

The voice faded out and he sat up straight. Flowey grinned at him maliciously. "That's right!" he chorused in a singsong tone. "You can SAVE, too! Isn't it great? **Now the real battle begins**!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> flowey's just pure evil ain't he


	10. Battle

Frisk let out a scream as Flowey hurled another volley of projectiles towards him. Ducking behind a pillar, the child picked up a stick and held it in front of his face as protection.

When another wave of bullets flew at him, he was ready. He knocked them away with the stick, hoping to buy time, but alas, this did not earn the desired effect.

Instead a set of vines grew from the ground and entangled themselves in his hair, around his neck, between his legs, and around his body, then swirling around the pillar and tying him securely in place. The flower laughed evilly and approached while Frisk flinched, eyes closing instinctively. "You do **not** want to make me mad. Got it?"

He squinted at Flowey inconspicuously and immediately started writhing in terror. A dark shadowy figure stood behind him. The figure wielded a glittering, wavering red knife. A golden glow in the shape of a heart shone at the torso.

It giggled, a seemingly girly action, but its words and tone contradicted this clue. "I thought we warned you about continuing. Stupid child! Now, for your foolishness, **YOU WILL DIE**!"

Frisk's eyes closed again, this time in defeat. Terror weighed heavy in his chest. Would he die again? If so, would he come back?

Several seconds went by. He was still awaiting the blow of the knife, but none came.

Confused, Frisk glanced around the room. No talking flower. No ghostly figure. No vines restraining him. _Wait, what? Wasn't I just- oh!_

Now he understood. The two assassins had seen Toriel! She walked into the room and immediately hurried to Frisk, concern showing in her pale reddish eyes. "My child! Why are you down there? ...And why do you look injured? Here, allow me to heal you."

A flash of orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue and purple glittered behind her for a nanosecond and he felt better.

She helped him up. Not yet steady on his feet, Frisk insisted upon stumbling around the room for a moment. Toriel consented and, when he was ready to go, promptly exited the room. She led him by the hand rushingly down a short staircase and a corridor.

The woman spoke as briskly as she moved. "My child, I have spoken to my friend. The one whose brother made the delicious spaghetti. I have arranged for the two of them to care for you for a short while." Hesitating a moment, she added, "Only until the Ruins return to their quiet, safe state. Forgive me for this."

Clearly still shocked by Flowey's words, Frisk had only been half-listening and now asked, "Mom, how do you SAVE?"

Toriel was taken aback and actually stopped walking for a moment. "I-I do not know. Where did you hear that from?"

 _Oh no, I have to lie to her!_ "Umm, one of the Froggits said something about it."

"I see." The woman's face showed doubt. "You would perhaps be better off asking my friend, child. He knows much about that type of thing."

At this point, the corridor ended. "We are here. At the one-way exit to the rest of the Underground."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk but maybe the souls help w/ healing powers  
> idk tho


	11. Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> k so this chapter is short since i have a hopefully more interesting chapter next :)

_At this point, the corridor ended. "We are here. At the one-way exit to the rest of the Underground."_

Toriel turned to Frisk, shadows dancing on her face and casting her in a dramatic light. "It is time for us to say our goodbyes. Please, once you leave here, you must understand one thing: You cannot return to me. The Ruins are a dangerous place. He would find you here-- he would take your SOUL. But if he doesn't find you, he may not pursue you. This is the first place he would look, anyway, right here where the pit leads to, and where I am most likely to take in anyone who falls."

Frisk absorbed this information and his mind quickly tried to work out who 'he' was. "Is that the king?" _Huh? How did I know who the king was? ...Chara, is that you?_

The woman looked surprised. "You know who King Asgore is? That actually shouldn't surprise me," she added. "After all, I did have that portrait in your room. Yes, I was talking about him."

All was silent in the hallway for several moments. Then Toriel tearfully hugged Frisk, murmuring, "I know I don't have much, but you could have been happy here, had the circumstances been different and there was no claim on your life hanging above your head."

Frisk was touched by this and tried to reassure here. "I'll be alright, Mom. I know my life he-"

"No. It would have been wrong for you to grow up in a place like this. The Ruins are very small once you get used to them." Her reddish eyes brimmed with emotion. "My expectations, my loneliness, my fear... For you, my child, I will put them away." Toriel stood up straight and the young boy clung to her leg. She swung the door open.

"Be good, my child."

Bright light flooded Frisk's eyes and he stepped out.

 


	12. Ruined

They arranged to meet in the same hallway. He got there first, while she ran up angrily, threw her knife on the ground, and promptly stomped on it. It flashed and turned slightly more transparent. "I thought we had him!"

She glanced at him. His androecium had morphed into a slight mold of Toriel's face.

"Go to hell!" she yelled.

He flinched back and restored his face. "Sorry! Sometimes it just happens!"

She rubbed her temples, as if she had a headache. He recognized this as her idea face and stared on expectingly. The girl seemed calm until she spoke. 

"Why didn't that work? Why did he come back? Asriel, you ruined the plan. AGAIN!"

He had been used to this sort of treatment, and, while being somewhat disappointed since she didn't give any details of her plan, he remained poker-faced, continuing to stare at her observantly. "Chara, are you crying?"

"No." She wiped her face with the end of her long green sleeve. "Listen, we need a new idea. That kid **has** to die."

"Can we not just kill him as soon as he enters the forest? Once the door closes, Toriel won't know what terrible fate befell him outside of the Ruins."

She sighed dramatically. "No. That comedian will be there. Either way, I have a better idea."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally part of the convo was to go like this  
> "go to hell!" she yelled.  
> he grinned. "see ya there."


	13. Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so my note sheets have been depleted. i need to write more. sorry in advance for possible slow updates ^^;

As soon as the crunch of snow indicated Frisk's contact with the chilly ground, he was swept up into someone's arms. Blue fluff tickled his nose and he sneezed a little.

"heya. so you're the kid i'll be babysitting... nice. door lady said you'll be staying with me for a while. to be honest, i'm not much of a kid person, but i'll make an exception. y'know. for door lady."

_I guess 'door lady' is Toriel...?_

Frisk leaned into the monster's shoulder, content to stay in that position all day and listen to him talk.

"oh yeah. i forgot to introduce myself. im sans. sans the skeleton." If he was a skeleton, why did he need to wear a jacket? "youll be living with me and my bro. the house is pretty small, so if we can't find room for you, you get the couch..." He trailed off.

Frisk asked, "Where is your house, anyway?"

Sans shrugged, jostling the boy a bit. "you know. around. hold tight, i know a shortcut."

The brunet half-expected him to start running, probably through the forest, but no; instead, there was a flash of cyan and suddenly he was in front of a festively-decorated log cabin, Frisk still sitting on his shoulders. "here we are. duck, unless you don't need your head."

Frisk giggled a bit and crouched down, narrowly missing the top of the doorframe. He jumped off the skeleton's shoulders and, since Sans didn't seem to have an extra room available, he plopped down on the green couch.

"welp, this is my humble abode. my bro is in his room. i bet he's sleeping. couch is yours till it's not so early in the morning. cya in a few hours, kid." With that, he entered a door at the corner of the living room and closed it behind him. A click told Frisk that it had been locked.

He tipped his head. Could Sans be using some sort of magic? Or were his eyes just playing tricks on him when his new dunkle used the 'shortcut?'

He'd always believed in magic, but none of the teachers at the village acknowledged its existence, much less taught him anything about it. He had been read to about fairies and witches and wizards. That was nearly his only knowledge of magic. Maybe Sans could teach him more?

Frisk's eyelids began to droop. He took Chara's diary out of his pocket and set it on the end table before pulling the fluffy blue blanket over his head and snuggling into it.

_I wonder if Mom knows where I went?_


	14. Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah this is late cause i dropped my notes in the toilet and had to rewrite them xD anyway enJOY  
> also sans thoughts in bold

Ms. Deltore frantically ran about the village. Frisk had been missing for five days, and no one had any tips as to where he could've gone. Where would a young child go in early March?

She was nearing the edge of the village by now and spotted a merchant organizing boxes of peaches. "Mareris? May I ask you a question?"  
  


The woman looked up and nodded. "Sure, ma'am. Make it quick."

"My son, Frisk, went missing almost a week ago. Have you happened to see him or know where he went?" Ms. Deltore asked anxiously, biting her lip.

"Oh, indeed I have! In fact, he bought two peaches from me and told me he was going down the mountain to pick flowers in Laureth. Do you suppose he might be staying with the townspeople down there?" Mareris queried half-heartedly. Everyone in town knew and loved Frisk. They knew him enough to know that he would want to come back home before the sun went down.

 His mother looked purely shocked. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? He's been gone for five days and I _just now_ get a possible lead?"

Mareris shrugged, although her face showed concern. "I'm sorry, I was buying groceries in Whiterun."

Ms. Deltore left the merchant stall to go to her house. She planned to pack her things, go down to Iodi, and find her child; he had to be there. She remembered the conversation.

She sneezed sharply but paid it no mind.

-

Frisk woke up on the couch and instinctively looked around the room. Sans was drinking something out of a red bottle; the TV channel was turned to the news, whose only reporter was a rectangular gray robot.

"mornin', kiddo. nice book by the way. it was so boring, couldn't even finish it."

The boy sat up straight and grabbed the diary off the end table, holding it close to his chest protectively. He was extremely relieved Sans hadn't read most of it. "Where's your brother?"

Sans shrugged. His left eye glowed a cyan blue color as he seemed to concentrate. _Is he using magic again? Ooh, this is so exciting!  
_

"looks like he's talking to... is that a flower? i think that's a flower. kid, have you talked to any yellow flowers?" Sans questioned. (He was actually masking his extreme concern with feigned confusion, but Frisk didn't know that.)

"OH NO!" The skeleton looked startled when Frisk screamed. "No, no no! Where are they? He can't interact with that stupid flower!"

**he knows Flowey? hm. i shouldnt be surprised. might as well send him the setting.**

A snowy forest image popped into the boy's head. "Is that where?" he asked.

Sans nodded.

"I'll be right back! I hope you understand!" he called, rushing out the door.

**welp. he better not get 'imself killed. what'll i tell door lady?**

-

Frisk was running with all his strength. He was panicking. He hadn't met Sans' brother, but he couldn't let _anyone_ fall into Flowey's stupid traps!

He had dropped the diary into a conveniently placed box outside. The box seemed to have peculiar mechanics. Several townspeople had placed things inside--coats, hats, lunch boxes, what looked like a poncho, even a dog leash--but there was nothing in it. The diary was there when he double-checked.

Eventually, Frisk reached what looked like the place Sans had informed him about. Flowey was nowhere in sight, but a tall, red-and-gold-wearing skeleton was. He turned to face Frisk.

"Greetings, human! It appears you are cold. Worry not! for I, the great Papyrus, will help you!" He took the boy's jacket off, picked him up, and replaces it around Frisk's shoulders. _Is he feeling in the pockets? Gee, Sans, you have a weird brother.  
_

**that doesn't sound like paps...**

"Papyrus, have you seen a flower around here?" he asked curiously.

"A f...? No, I haven't seen any flowers in this area. Except those." Papyrus pointed to a bush. Light lavender-blue blossoms grew on it.

Frisk seemed a bit confused. He trusted Sans, so was Papyrus lying, or was there no Flowey in the first place? But why would Sans lie to him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also im grounded for a week from my phone. i do get computer access but i have two brothers who like to get on it like 25/7 so... dont expect quick updates like i usually do, at least not for a while XD


	15. Name

Halfway home, Papyrus broke the comfortable silence with a question of his own. "A friend of mine lost her diary around this forest. It's black leather. Have you seen it, or anything that could be it?" he asked, seeming a slight bit desperate.

Suddenly on-edge again, Frisk answered in an aloof tone. "I don't believe I have. What's her name?"

He could've sworn he saw a glint of red as Papyrus shook his head. "You already know m-- her name."

Frisk's eyes widened in horror. His thoughts were completely overcome by one: Run! Slipping out of the skeleton's arms, he hit the ground running. Freezing air blew into his face and he began coughing, but there was something extremely off about Papyrus, and he wanted nothing to do with that deal.

Sans was standing on the stairs and bundled Frisk into his fluffy blue jacket. "what's wrong kiddo? what's wrong?"

Frisk was shaking uncontrollably now, tears pooling in his eyes. "Your b-brother is-- he's scaring me, said I knew his friend's name--"

"wait, wait. sit down and tell me the whole story."

"Okay." The boy sniffled and wiped his face as Sans wrapped him in the jacket. They were both sitting on the couch at this point. "Um, I w-went to see if the flower you talked about was there. He's a bad g-guy and he tried to kill m-me already. Your brother took my jacket off and asked me if I h-had seen a book around, cause it was his friend's, and I said n-no and asked her name, and he said that I already k-know her name." He was crying now and wheezed slightly.

"okay kid. first of all, pap is gonna be here soon. go get that diary out of the box and i'm gonna bring you to your new room. don't cry, it's alright. you'll be safe. go get the book and come right back inside. trust me on this."

Frisk stood up shakily, trying not to let on the majority of his fear. He had severe erythrophobia, the phobia of the color red. He didn't even want to recall how it had manifested; he was too nervous and torn up.

Frisk unsteadily shambled outside and to the box, removed the diary, and immediately ran back into the house.  Sans nodded and peeked out the door. "he's coming. alright, hide under the couch. it's alright. there's enough room, you can go to the other room as soon as he leaves, alright kid?"

"Alright..." He scooted under the couch, moving into a curled position in an attempt to still his beating heart. 

Not a moment too soon. Papyrus walked into the living room and collapsed into a chair, right where Frisk got a decent view. 

"hey bro."

"Hello, Sans.I spoke to Undyne. Did you.-..-.-" The sentence turned into garbled speech. Frisk tried to tune it out, he didn't need any more of this stress. 

/

Papyrus was trembling and clamping his hands on his skull. _what do i do? what do i do?  i don't-_

He suddenly stilled. Sans watched as he solemnly held up five fingers. "Fifth." This time he formed what looked to be a P-shape. "Word."

Then Pap's eye flashed red briefly and he seemed to snap out of the trance. "I really hope that she does not think I'm controlling. That'd be harsh on me, right?"

She is controlling me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooooooo drama goin down


	16. Chapter 16

"who?" Sans pressed, only eliciting a confused look from his brother. 

"What do you mean, who?"

_oh, i guess she has full control over his body now. in that case i better not try to read their mind and find out who's controlling him. whoever she is might be able to tell._

"nothing, sorry. can you go pick up some cinnamon buns from the shop please? i had an idea for dinner."

Papyrus stood from the chair. "Of course, brother! It's quite a miracle that you're making dinner." He walked towards and out of the door, still not noticing Frisk under the couch, who remained curled up clutching his legs to his chin.

Sans beckoned the boy out as soon as Papyrus left.

"alright kiddo, this is our chance. i've got a room you can use. it's made of a sort of soundproof material, except it's magicproof instead. also, the insulation in the walls helps block out mind-originated charges, so that means whoever is possessing my brother can't detect you in there unless you open the door. you can read that diary without fear. sound good?"

Frisk nodded. "I guess... Are you sure it's safe?"

"definitely. designed it myself, along with the royal scientist and his apprentice at the time. heh." He closed his eyes and smiled. "took a few times. the apprentice was new at that stuff. she messed it up some, but it eventually worked out. welp, let's move your couch on in there." Sans opened his eyes, the left one glowing cyan, and stretched out a hand. The couch was engulfed in a blue bubble and disappeared, shortly being replaced with another couch. 

"What. The actual heck."

"don't ask. just follow me. oh, where's your jacket? you're gonna be needing that."

Frisk hadn't noticed the lack of his own jacket until now. He'd been wrapped up in Sans'. "Uh, I think your brother still has it. Can you, uh, maybe poof me up another one?" he asked excitedly.

He smiled widely as a blue-and-magenta-striped sweater appeared around his shoulders in place of Sans' fluffy blue one. "Thanks!"

"not a problem. c'mon."

Sans walked out of the house, Frisk tailing him. Snow crunched below their feet as Sans led the boy around back. There was a wooden door with a trashcan next to it, the snow piled up at least a meter in front of said door, indicating its unuse for several years. "Is this it?"

"yep." The skeleton pushed the door open. "you'll be staying here until i can figure out what to do about my brother."


	17. Happy

The floor was mauve-colored tiles with pale blue wallpaper. A shelf was built into the wall with three drawers below it, and a sheet was draped over something in the corner. The trusty couch sat in between the shelf and sheet-covered contraption, along with a small minifridge, nightstand, and lamp in various other spaces. A fluffy carpet was stretched out on the cold tile floor.

"make yourself at home. papyrus is coming back, here's a key." Sans tossed Frisk a small silver key. 

The boy watched as Sans exited the room, padlocking the door behind him. The key Frisk had was to the padlock, and there was a lock on the doorknob as well. _In case anything ever goes wrong and Papyrus finds out I'm in here, I can use that to my advantage._

He decided to put away his worries and read the diary, snuggling into his new sweater as he opened it.

April 7, 199x   
Turns out there's a legend about the underground world. I'll try to tell it verbatim.  
'Long ago, two races ruled over the Earth: Humans and Monsters. One day, a war broke out between the two races and after a long series of battle, the humans were victorious. The greatest of their magicians sealed the monsters to the Underground with a magic barrier. Those who fall are said to never return.' I hope that last part is true. I don't want to return. I'm going to create a new life for myself down there. Big things are coming, and no one can interfere.

April 13, 199x    
I talked to the rest of Gabriella's friends. Their names are Sabu, Sia, Ollie, Kaylee, and Inky. Sabu looks sort of like me, with brown hair and green eyes, except her hair is curlier and she ponytails it. She's the baker's apprentice and makes killer pastries. (Killer in a good way. Haha.) Sia is the son of the sheriff, and as you could guess, he's already handcuffing people. Ollie is his best friend. I'm not too keen on Ollie. He always wears this stupid bandanna with abs drawn on it, and he's always punching stuff. Kaylee is one of the oldest in the group. She's about to turn thirteen on the 21st of this month. She helps out at the library with shelving books and all that. I think she'd do good taking on a job with young kids. She's very patient. Oh, and Inky, the bookworm. I like her hair. It's really shiny and long. She's always carrying a torn notebook around with her, and good God, the girl needs to clean her glasses.  
Oops, gotta get to Sabu's for dinner. I'll write soon. I haven't been this happy in a long time.


	18. Rumors

April 14, 199x   
I thought this was a good thing.  
Last night at Sabu's, we were talking at the dinner table. Her parents were in the kitchen. We were in the middle of a conversation when I heard her parents start talking about things they'd heard. Apparently, someone in the group spread the rumor that I was a fugitive from lower down on the mountain and I was wanted by the police. The kid who said all that also claimed that I had the capacity to kill.  
That last part may be true, but I think Ollie did this. He'd never liked me, so how else could he ruin my life here? I was planning to tell the group where I was going to go, but I'm starting to have second thoughts about that. I'm leaving as soon as possible.

April 23, 199x  
How do I put this, in a short entry: I LOVE IT HERE! More to come soon, I'm going to help make macaroni art with my new brother.

_Brother? Who's that? Maybe Sans knows him._

April 25, 199x  
I'm writing this with Asriel breathing down my neck currently. Asriel, say hi!  
**hi, chara's diary! Nice to meet you**!  
Ugh, fat pencil. Haha. Let me try to recount everything that happened.  
Okay, the afternoon of the seventeenth, I'd had enough of the rumors and people talking behind my back. I had had it. I went straight to the hole and actually tripped in, believe it or not. It took me by surprise at first. Anyway, I woke up in a bed of flowers. A little goat-looking monster was taking a walk, but he ran over when he heard me fall apparently. He took me back to his house. His parents made me feel welcome, even letting me share a room with Asriel! I really, really like this world.

_Hm, I guess her brother is Asriel. He sounds like Toriel and the king's son, maybe? I might be able to find someone who knew them._

May 1, 199x  
Asriel and I drew a picture of ourselves. It's one of the best things we've ever drawn, and Mom hung it up on the fridge.

May 13, 199x  
During dinner yesterday, Asriel and I were goofing off. I ate a piece of broccoli and made a funny face. He found it absolutely hilarious and calls it my 'creepy face' now. So today, outside, I was sitting on a rock and Asriel came outside with the camera. It's very old, but he loves that thing, says it used to be his parents'. Anyway, he told me to do my creepy face. I did, but he left the lens cap on. Haha. He's so clumsy sometimes. That's why I like him.

  
May 28, 199x  
I was bored today, so I went exploring while Mom and Dad went out on a date and Asriel had a doctor's appointment or something. After about two hours, I found a place called the CORE. There, I met two scientists, a skeleton-looking man and his apprentice, a small lizard girl. The young one was named Alphys, but she told be at one point to not ask her mentor's name. I didn't. I stayed and talked to them for a long time though. I might come back. I would've stayed, but Mom called me and demanded to know where I went, so I had to leave.

 _Didn't Sans say something about the Royal Scientist and his apprentice? I might be on to something here!_ Frisk thought excitedly. _If Sans knows Alphys and the other Royal Scientist, he could tell me about them, and the CORE seems easy enough to reach..._

June 16, 199x  
I was thinking. My brother's family has done so much for me. We want to make Mr. Dad Guy a pie and a sweater, you know, for Father's Day. The recipe requires cups of butter. I guess that's some fancy way of saying buttercups.  
Wait, Asriel knows where there are some. I'll write in a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh the html is screwing up. i'll fix it in the morning. check out the whole 29 chapters on wattpad here: http://w.tt/1RVfT5l


	19. Illness

June 16, 199x  
We're waiting for the pie to finish baking. I found a history book on Mr. Dad Guy's bookshelf. It was teaching about the nature of the human SOUL... In a nutshell, it said that humans have colored SOULs based on their key qualities. The SOUL becomes clearer once you fall into the Underground, allowing it to be seen and, in some battles, broken, killing you. A human can cross through the Barrier I talked about several entries ago if their SOUL is combined with that of a monster. But, a monster whose SOUL is combined with seven human SOULs, can break the barrier! I attached an excerpt below for future reference.

_Why would she call attention to that?_ Frisk wondered. _What's this girl going to do?_

June 18, 199x  
Uh-oh.

June 25, 199x  
I still can't decide if this is a bad or good thing. Well, turns out. We used buttercups in the pie. Not cups of butter. Cups of butter are a dairy product... we used the flowers. Buttercups are extremely poisonous. Mr. Dad Guy loved the sweater, but Azzy and I immediately noticed something was wrong when he took a taste of the pie. We had poisoned him. I had a breakthrough and couldn't help but laughing it off; I'm sorry, but I laugh to disguise emotions sometimes. So, I had an idea.

Frisk felt a chill go up his spine. This girl... He hadn't known much about her in the first place, but who would poison their own father, even by accident, and laugh about it? How could anyone do that? He felt like he had vastly underestimated this girl.

She seemed to be emotionless.

July 3, 199x  
I guess I'll describe the plan, while Azzy tries to find more buttercups to care for and work up the courage to accept the plan. I'll poison myself with the flowers, hopefully dying, since my SOUL isn't very strong. Then, Azzy will absorb my SOUL and go through the Barrier, where he'll kill six humans, absorb their SOULs, come back, and destroy the Barrier. That way, I'll essentially help all the monsters that helped me! Plus if any other human falls down here, learns that, and breaks the Barrier themself, I wouldn't be able to return to the real world. There would just be too much to face, too many questions and not enough answers.   
Anyway. I don't know when I'll eat the flowers. I really, really want to stay down here and learn from the Royal Scientists. You know, just so I can ensure there are no holes in my plan.   
I want this to work.

"Well." Frisk tipped his head thoughtfully and wondered whether or not Sans was busy. They had much to discuss. The boy couldn't understand most of this SOUL talk, but Sans might be able to simplify it for him.

Speak of the devil. There was a sharp knock on the door. Frisk, assuming that Sans had read his thoughts and was outside, stood up and was reaching to undo the padlock when something popped into his head

 **don't open that door**.

The boy froze. _Sans?_

**hey kiddo. do not open that door, whatever you do.**

Frisk stood still, not daring to move back to the couch in case whoever was out there heard his footsteps. The knock came again, sharper this time. "kid, open up."

**don't! that is not me, i swear. leave the door closed. stay still. don't move an inch until he's gone. that's whoever's possessing papyrus. she's trying to impersonate me, she wants to eliminate that place as a possible hiding place for you.**

Frisk took a deep breath. _Okay._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH YEAH i've been told the beginning is tacky. and yes it is. but i was wondering, if i rewrote it, would y'all like it a certain way? keep in mind this book is written before tv became a thing, and frisk doesn't talk to the village kids as much as he would if his mom wasn't so overprotective haha ^^; tldr: should i rewrite the beginning? any ideas?


	20. Cure

Time seemed to stand still as Frisk waited. First one, then two, then three minutes passed, and finally, the confirmation thought came to him. **he's gone now. i'll go ahead in your room.**

Sans appeared next to him. "alright, ya wanted to know about souls? okay. when you encounter a monster, you enter a battle and your soul is shown. i think yours is red, for determination. it looks like a little heart. so, when a human dies, it's possible for a monster to, essentially, combine the human's soul with their own. it works vice versa for humans. but there's a catch. humans can't absorb human souls, and monsters can't absorb monster souls.

"this brings us to the subject of the barrier. it's a magical seal keeping monsters in the underground. a being with both a monster and a human soul can travel through it, and it can be broken with seven human souls. of course this means that a monster must absorb seven human souls. uh, the king has six souls at the moment, so, uh..."

"Does that mean he wants to kill me to break the Barrier?" Frisk asked wide-eyed. 

Sans seemed to cringe a bit. "uh, not exactly. i mean, he's a nice guy, heck, he's got the nickname of king fluffybuns. but yeah, he doesn't _want_ to kill you, but he knows he has to if he wants to free all us monsters. is that what you wanted to know?"

The boy's head tipped a bit. "Yeah, basically. Also what's the Core?"

"uh-- where did you find out about that?" Sans questioned uneasily. **_i hate that place, that's where gaster died..._**

"My book." 

"um... it's a place that converts geothermal energy into magic energy. that means it takes the heat from hotland and changes it to energy that we use to power mechanisms and puzzles. why do you want to go there?"

Frisk quickly said, "I want to learn about things this book said."

**_i know better than that. he wants to go to the core and find alphys and gaster. well, they aren't there, but i'm in no way telling him where it is._ **

"well, anyway. i think i might have a way to cure papyrus. y'know, kick that evil spirit out of him so i can have my brother back. of course, not sure if it will work, and it does have some severe consequences if it fails, but i'm willing to try it."

"Really? I might be able to help! Oh, please let me help!" Frisk begged. This could be a learning experience, and maybe bring him closer to finding the Core.

Sans smiled. "sure, kid. it'll require a trip to waterfall."


	21. ̶̶͇͇͆͆C̶̶͇͇͆͆o̶̶͇͇͆͆n̶̶͇͇͆͆t̶̶͇͇͆͆r̶̶͇͇͆͆o̶͇͆l

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> theres a gravity falls ref. who will get it i wonder

Her red eyes glinted with satisfaction and she stretched out her arms. Man, it had been so long since she'd inhabited a body. 

This naive skeleton was her vessel now. And hopefully it would lead her straight to Frisk. After all, she'd heard what Sans had told him on the way out of the Ruins, that he'd be staying there until things sorted out with the Ruins. Heh. That wouldn't be happening any time soon. Flowey would have the entire area reduced to ash by the time Frisk went back.

She walked back into the house. Sans wasn't there at the moment, she had no clue where he was. She scoured the house, top floor and bottom, but Frisk was nowhere to be seen.

_What...? Where is he?_

Chara rushed outside and peered up to the balcony, to which there was no indoor opening. He wasn't there either. 

She circled the house. This time, she found a door around back. It seemed to be locked, maybe even padlocked from the inside. _Ha!_ she thought triumphantly. _Nice try, Sans, I know he's in there._  She cleared her throat, morphing it into the older skeleton's voice, and rapped on the door sharply three times. 

A little tap sounded from inside. She knocked again, harder this time. "kid, open up."

No movement.

She waited.

No movement.

_Well, I guess he isn't in there._ Using magic, she tried to penetrate the walls, merely seeing an empty room. _Huh. Perhaps I was wrong? Perhaps Frisk backtracked..._

She turned and began searching the town.

_It doesn't matter, Frisk, darling. After all,_ w͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿h͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿o͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿ ͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿i͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿s͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿ ͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿i͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿n͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿ ͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿c͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿o͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿n͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿t͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿r͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿o͇̯̮͕͕̮̯͇̿͐̋̋͐̿l͇̯̮͕̿͐̋?

 


	22. Chapter 22

Frisk bounced along after the older skeleton. Sans had used magic to scan Snowdin Town for Papyrus, but he was nowhere to be seen, so he decided to go ahead and take Frisk to Waterfall. They had to gather pollen from two Echo Flowers and the petals from a Bridge Seed for the magic powder mix. It would be added to the sparkling marsh water and blended, then fed to Papyrus, hopefully poisoning the spirit inside him and returning him to his normal self.

Of course, there was a possibility that it would poison him, too, but they weren't going to worry about that for now.

As they approached what Sans called 'the entrance to null', a small yellow reptilian monster wearing a poncho noticed them coming down the road. He stood up. "Yo, dude!" he called excitedly to Frisk. "You're a kid, right? I can tell 'cause you're wearing a striped shirt! Mind if I walk with you?" he added. "I was just on my way to Waterfall myself."

Frisk glanced at Sans questioningly. "c'mon, buddy, you're good."

"Awesome!" the kid exclaimed. He fell into step next to Frisk. "Have you met Undyne yet? She's sooo cool!"

"No, what's she like?"

"She's rude, loud, and beats up anyone who gets in her way!" 

Sans cut in. "can confirm, that's true."

Frisk laughed and turned to the kid. "What's your name, by the way?"

"Monster Kid, but you can call me MK. Oh, this puzzle's easy! Just get in the water and follow me. The rocks don't fall in all the parts." MK dove in and walked into the middle. 

Frisk blinked. "Oh, cool!" He ran to put the diary in a box and then followed MK's example. "Come on, Sans!"

A flash of blue, and he was on the other side.

"Oh."

Frisk put his head underwater to grab something that tugged on his foot. He caught a ribbon in between his fingers and was trying to surface when a current swept him across the river; as he opened his mouth to call for help, water rushed in, cutting off what little air supply he had. _Am I really going to drown here?_ he wondered, eyes screwing shut against the current.

Until he surfaced in a small room. 

There was a little tutu lying in front of a wall. Frisk climbed out of the pool and touched the skirt, and, to his surprise, a small menu popped up.

Old Tutu | +10 defense  
Finally, a protective piece of armor.

 _Defense? Sounds awesome, especially if I encounter any monsters here._ He slipped the tutu on over his blue shorts and then realized what had caught his foot in the stream. A ribbon had wrapped itself around his ankle, attached to two pink shoes. He lightly grazed the ribbon with his fingers 

Ballet Shoes | +7 attack  
These used shoes make you feel incredibly dangerous.

 _Huh. Good to know._ Frisk tipped his head curiously. But would he need to attack anything? He'd always had a pacifist mindset and couldn't bring himself to think that killing anything was worth it in the long run.

The boy merely shrugged and picked up the shoes. Maybe he could give them away. 

He slid into the calm pool of water and swam forward, going through a small waterfall back into the river, where Sans and MK waited on the banks, the younger of the two fidgeting anxiously. MK let out a sigh of relief. Sans took one look at his outfit and lost it. "what, did you become a ballerina in two seconds? oh my gosh, that's too adorable, ah," he laughed, wiping a tear from his eye. "were you and alphys cosplaying in there? oh, oh gosh, that's amazing."

Frisk crossed his arms and fake-pouted. "I think he looks awesome!" MK cut in.

"Thanks, MK," Frisk said with a smile.

"well, we should be going," Sans suggested, composing himself. "oh, also, my magic doesn't work very well as we explore deeper into waterfall. 'cause of, you know, all the water. it kinda nulls my magic. anyway, let's go. there should be an echo flower up ahead if i remember correctly."

The kids followed him, blissfully unaware of the splash of water and muffled curse behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh


	23. Encounter

The small caravan soon came to a room with a group of Bridge Flowers blossoming over a small river, having formed a dry path to the other side. The kids ran across the crude bridge, followed by Sans, who knelt down and stripped the petals from the last one.

"one ingredient out of three down. there's a few echo flowers up ahead. i'll get the pollen and you two, here's a jar. go fill it with that sparkling cyan water," Sans instructed, handing Frisk a small glass jar and gesturing to a pool of water.

He and MK complied, running to the waterfront and dipping the jar inside.

The smaller child grinned as he glanced at Frisk. "One time, at school, we had this project where we had to take care of a flower," he began. "The king-- we had to call him Mr. Dreemurr-- offered to donate his own flowers, straight from his royal garden! He ended up coming to school and teaching us about responsibility and stuff. And, hey, that got me thinking: what if _Undyne_ came to school? She could beat up all the teachers!"

Frisk gave him an odd, slightly amused, look. 

MK giggled. "Haha, on second thought, maybe she wouldn't beat up the teachers. She's too cool to ever hurt an innocent person!" he amended.

The human boy smiled. He liked MK's company.

The kids stood up from the riverbank and began walking back to where Sans was shaking pollen into a separate jar of his own when they heard a muffled whisper.

"Hey, kids."

MK bristled and whipped around. He glared at a wall. "Yo, I know you're back there, dude. You can't scare us, we have Sans with us!"

The same whisper came again. "How do you expect to beat me? I am a being beyond your wildest dreams. Not even ancient history knows how to defeat me. Would you like to reconsider and rephrase your previous statement now?" 

"Who are you?" Frisk demanded.

Silence.

"Yo, dude, show yourself!"

Silence.

The kids stared at each other wide-eyed. That little encounter had seriously unnerved them, and they didn't know where that mysterious person could be right now. They stuck a bit closer together and started to run the rest of the way to Sans.

After a few seconds, Frisk asked, "Should we tell him?"

MK thought for a moment. "Nah, what would he be able to do, anyway? We'll be fine, dude. We'll just stay together, and we'll be fine!"

Frisk smiled. The kid's enthusiasm was contagious.

They finally got to the room where Sans was waiting. "hey kids. any problems? i've got some of the pollen, of course, we'll be needing more. the flowers weren't in full bloom yet."

Frisk hesitated a moment. "No, we got the water," he said, giving the jar to Sans.

"great."

The small caravan of three began traversing the rooms of Waterfall. Coming to a room with a block of peat in the center, they skirted around it, and Frisk had his first monster encounter.

Shyren hides in the corner but somehow encounters you anyway.

She was pretty, a serpentine/fish girl with an anglerfish-like extension that dangled over her face. She was turned away from his view.

Frisk reached out and touched her scales lightly.

19 AT | 7 DF  
Tone deaf. She's too ashamed to sing her deadly song.

 _Hm. Seems like I should hum to her, maybe encourage her to come out of her shell?_ he pondered. _Eh, couldn't hurt._ He hummed quietly, adding a smile afterwards. He asked to see Shyren's smile, too, but she grew quieter. In the corner, a seahorse monster nodded his head approvingly.

The serpentine girl sang her own tune. This went on for several turns, spanning through a concert to which Sans sold tickets made of toilet paper. 

Finally, Frisk spared her. Shyren opened her mouth and spoke. "Thanks." Her voice was a bit raspy. "It's been a long time since someone's talked to me, other than Grillby and Aaron. It means a lot, human." She actually smiled this time and then faded. "I'll be around."

The child took a deep breath. 

This journey would be a long one.


	24. Lost

The absence of Echo Flowers was beginning to get on their nerves. The group had traversed several rooms without seeing a single one.

Eventually, they got to a long bridge suspended over a dark void. Sans went first, followed by the kids, but they reached the end and they had accomplished nothing. Frisk turned around while MK and Sans peered into the void.

A metal clanging noise sounded and a white glint appeared in the darkness.

"Um, guys?"

They turned around. An armored figure emerged from the shadow. "A human? Oh, it's been a long time, hasn't it. Well, this is a good thing. THIS IS GREAT! Give your SOUL to me now, human." 

An electric blue spear shot towards Frisk. 

"OR I'LL TEAR IT FROM YOUR BODY!"

Frisk gasped and backed up. He hid behind Sans and went to back up some more; the solid feel of the bridge reassured his descent until there was nothing, and he was falling into darkness for the second time that week. " _HELP!_ "

-

He woke up in a garbage dump on a bed of golden flowers. _This seems oddly familiar. Falling, landing on flowers..._

Frisk stood up and looked around. Small metal plates floated above dark indigo water, with trash piled in heaps next to the walls. Sticking a foot daintily into the water, he tested the depth, which was only a foot or two deep. Frisk slipped off the metal pad and maneuvered through the cold water, past a training dummy.

When he tried to walk through the exit, the dummy turned and formed an angry expression. _Wh-?_

"Hahaha... It's just like you to run away! I am a ghost that lives inside a Dummy. My cousin used to live in a Dummy, too. UNTIL YOU CAME ALONG! They were a shy sort. Living a lonely life in the RUINS... They saw you and hoped you might TALK to them. Perhaps strike up a friendly conversation. But NO!!! You ran away... And broke their little ethereal heart. Despicable. Despicable! DESPICABLE! HUMAN! I'll show you what REAL heartbreak is!" they snarled.

 **Mad Dummy blocks the way!**  

Frisk realized he wouldn't be able to touch the Dummy. They would probably try to bite his hand or something, so he concentrated really hard on them. 

**30 AT | YES DF  
Because they're a ghost, physical attacks will fail.**

_It's not like I wanted to attack them anyway..._

"Futile. Futile! FUTILE!" the Dummy yelled. A row of smaller dummies appeared behind Frisk and shot several tumbleweed-like projectiles towards him. He yelped and moved out of the way at the last second, causing the projectiles to hit his opponent. 

The Dummy's body creased. "OWWWW, you DUMMIES!! Watch where you're aiming your MAGIC attacks!" They blinked, realized what they had said, and started looking extremely nervous. "...Hey! You! Forget I said anything about MAGIC!!!"

Frisk shrugged. " _Glad_ ly."

He had figured out what he was supposed to do to beat the Dummy by now. He just had to maneuver his SOUL around the tumbleweeds so that they hit the Dummy.

This went quite well, until they got tired of using their minions. "HEY GUYS! Dummies. Dummies! DUMMIES! Remember how I said NOT to shoot at me? Well... FAILURES! YOU'RE FIRED! YOU'RE ALL BEING REPLACED!!! Hahaha. Hahaha! HAHAHA!" they laughed maniacally. "Now you'll see my true power: Relying on people that aren't garbage!"

A small robot popped up next to Frisk. "DUMMY BOTS! MAGIC MISSILE!"

_Missile-?_

The robot shot a triangular-shaped projectile at him. Frisk tried his usual evasion technique, but the missile seemed to be heat-seeking and followed him. He panicked, running in a quick circle. That actually worked. The missile plowed straight into the Dummy, who promptly shrieked, "DUMMY BOTS! TRY AGAIN!"

This time, some metal dummies started falling from the ceiling while a missile followed Frisk. He ran in a circle again, but one of the dummies grazed his SOUL, taking him down to 17HP out of 20. "Ow!" he yelped. That _really_ hurt!

Eventually, he had deflected all of the missiles. Then the Dummy snarled, "(N... no way! These guys are even WORSE than the other guys!) Who cares. Who cares! WHO CARES!!! I DON'T NEED FRIENDS!!! I'VE GOT KNIVES!!!"

An iron blade dove towards Frisk's SOUL. He easily avoided it. 

The Dummy looked nervous again. "I'm... out of knives. BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER!!! YOU CAN'T HURT ME AND I CAN'T HURT YOU! You'll be stuck fighting me... Forever. Forever! FOREVER!" He enunciated his claim with another maniacal laugh, and was in the middle of said laugh when a few drops of liquid fell from the sky.

"Wh... What the heck is this? Ergh! Acid rain?! Oh, forget it! I'M OUT OF HERE!" 

The Mad Dummy slid out of Frisk's view, and a small ghost with dark lines around his eyes approached. 


	25. Ghost

_The Mad Dummy slid out of Frisk's view, and a small ghost with dark lines around his eyes approached._

The ghost stared at Frisk sadly. "...sorry, i interrupted you, didn't i? as soon as i came over, your friend immediately left... oh no... you guys looked like you were having fun... oh no... i just wanted to say hi to the human................... um, i'll be in my house, it's up here... feel free to 'come with.' or not..."

Something compelled the kid to follow him. He seemed like he could use some company.

Frisk waded through the water and climbed up onto the path, squeezing water out of his long hair and clothes and dumping it out of his shoes. He entered a large room with three north paths, one east, and one west. There was a block of peat in the middle of the room with a glowing yellow star. 

As soon as he came in contact with it, a message appeared.

*** You feel a calming tranquility...  
* You're filled with determination.**

The child tipped his head in confusion. What was this star? He'd basically skipped exploring both the Ruins and Snowdin, so he didn't have any experience with the thing.

Tapping the star again, Frisk viewed the same message. He gave a little shrug. Seeing wasn't knowing. 

The soft breeze blew his hair and dried it slightly as he walked around the peat moss block, where he came to the three-way intersection. _Wait, which way is that ghost's house?_ he wondered. _I'll try the middle one first, I guess. If that's not it I'll go left to right._

Surprisingly, the middle one was correct. A tall white house in the shape of a ghost stood next to a pinkish red house of the same description.

He knocked lightly on the white house's door.

"come in... if you want...."

Frisk walked inside. The ghost (by checking him, he learned his name was Napstablook) was floating in front of his desktop computer. The browser was opened to a music-sharing forum. A fridge sat in front of the same wall in the other corner, and between the two was a TV. On the opposite wall, three CDs and a music player were gathered into a small line.

"Nice house," Frisk encouraged, earning a sad smile from Napstablook. "thanks... do you want something to eat...? someone came by just a few hours ago and got a ghost sandwich... i was surprised she could eat it... no one's been able to so far..."

This spiked the boy's attention greatly. "Oh, oh no, what did she look like?"

"brown hair, red eyes--" Frisk flinched a bit at this-- "green and yellow shirt. why...?"

"Oh no, I'm trying to find that girl! She's got information I want-- where did you last see her?" Frisk questioned.

Napstablook seemed to be getting a bit stressed under the pressure, and the kid quickly apologized for his straightforward manner. "um, well as i said she came in here and got a ghost sandwich, then she went outside... i don't know where she is out there..."

Frisk hugged him as well as he could hug a ghost. "Thank you!" he called gratefully as he ran out the door.

"oh.............. that was certainly something..........."

Frisk had hardly taken a single step when another encounter happened. Papyrus stood outside the door grinning maliciously at the child.

_Check._

**A valiant enemy.  
1000 AT | 5000 DF**

_How am I going to get out of this one?_ he wondered, tears springing to his eyes. _Am I even going to survive at all? I can't beat a spirit!_


	26. Help

"Frisk?" MK called. The kid was clearly terrified.

Sans took a deep breath and turned to Undyne. "okay, what did you have to go and do that for?" he asked with a heavy sigh.

The undine monster narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean? Sans, there hasn't been a human down here for so many long years. If I take his SOUL, we can finally go free! Isn't that what you want? For us to use the bad humans' SOULs to escape the Underground?" She seemed confused at this point.

"well, the kid's been through a lot here. he didn't die in the ruins like gabriella, did he? he's determined. he could save us."

Undyne laughed scornfully. "Really? That little kid could free our entire race? Sans, your brother overestimated you. You're wrong. Only we can save us. We don't need _any_ outside help, especially from a puny human who fell off this ledge before I could take his SOUL!"

Sans' eye glowed cyan. "i'm not wrong. when have i been wrong before?"

"Just now, when you said you're not wrong. You seriously need to learn that humans are never good news. They earn our trust, and then-"

"Guys?" MK cut in. "I can't see Frisk anymore. I think he got up and moved."

Undyne unwillingly dropped the argument with Sans and knelt next to MK, who immediately gasped. Undyne was _touching_ him!

"S-See, he fell right onto those flowers--" the reptilian monster pointed out a golden flowerbed-- "but he's not there anymore. He must've moved, right? 'Cause, hey, there's no other way you could just disappear like that."

The trio realized they would have to jump down as well, and for the first time, the leader of the Royal Guard regretted something: inadvertently causing the kid to fall.

-

They came to a room with six different ways out of it. Undyne recognized one path as being to her own house, one to Napstablook's, one to the ghost farm, one to Gerson, and one to a bird that carries you over a disproportionately small gap. Sans immediately sighted some Echo Flowers and became preoccupied with dusting the pollen out of them.

MK and Undyne walked around the peat moss block and saw Papyrus in a battle with Frisk. The skeleton was acting ruthless.

/

Frisk couldn't see. His hair hung in his face and he couldn't move; black, wilted flower vines had entangled themselves around his wrists and ankles, and they had sprouted thorns as well. He didn't want to be able to see. If anything, seeing his torturer would make it worse.

He was waiting to die when a familiar voice reached his ears. "Frisk! We'll save you!" _MK, no! Go away from here!_

Papyrus gave a menacing laugh. "Oh, what fun! More toys to play with!"

Then the voice of the last person he heard before falling into the abyss. "What in hell's blazes-- Papyrus?"

The thorns dug deeper into his flesh and Frisk let out a cry of pain. "Please leave!" he wailed. "She's hurting me!"

"She?" echoed Undyne. "I'm gonna want a full explanation of this when it's over!"

Frisk tried to upright himself so his hair swept out of his face and what he saw chilled him to the bone. Papyrus' body was slumped in a corner while a dark ghostly figure wrestled with Undyne; the former was trying to keep a magic spear from impaling her in the chest.

MK rushed towards his new friend and undid the vines hastily. The boys turned around and their stomachs flipped.

The tables had turned. Now it was Chara trying to drive a spear into Undyne. The Royal Guard leader had managed to stay alive, but she was growing tired.

Chara turned and noticed the kids staring. She whispered to Undyne, "Wouldn't it be just great if one of those kids dies instead of you?"

Everything happened too quickly.

A neon blue spear tore through the air at Frisk. In his weakened state, there was no way he could dodge in time and he screwed his eyes shut, prepared for certain death this time.

The blow never came.

Instead, something heavy hit the ground in front of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> u know this sucks but that's okay. i'll probably end up making it better along the way.


	27. Goner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FOREWARNING: I KNOW MONSTER KID AND GONER KID DO NOT HAVE ARMS, BUT FOR DRAMATIC PURPOSES, GONER KID DOES. SO DON'T COMPLAIN IN THE COMMENTS ABOUT IT.

_A neon blue spear tore through the air at Frisk. In his weakened state, there was no way he could dodge in time and he screwed his eyes shut, prepared for certain death this time._

_The blow never came._

_Instead, something heavy hit the ground in front of him._

Eyes widening in shock, Frisk knelt. MK stared up at him through glassy eyes. He looked oddly pale. "F... Frisk? Dude, did I... did I do it?"

Tears fell down his cheeks. Frisk embraced his friend as well as he could. The spear protruding from his chest probably caused him pain whenever he was touched. "You did it, MK," he whispered tearfully. "You saved me."

By this time, MK's eyes had glazed over and he seemed to be gray. 

"Aw, come on. You humans." Chara scoffed. "Caring about a single life, cherishing it as if it's the last good thing left in the world. Pathetic. Absolutely... pathetic." She smiled widely, glancing down at a shocked Undyne. "I don't get it. I've been devoid of feeling for a long time. I should kill Sans next. 1HP, right? Gee, I won't even be able to use any of my fancy tools on him--"

"SHUT UP!"

The girl raised her dainty brown eyebrows. "Excuse me?" she requested sweetly.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Frisk yelled. He was full-out crying at this point. "You kill my friend and then sit there and basically MOCK his entire existence, then you basically plan to fillet one of the only monsters I've gotten close to, and expect me to just take it? Why are you so genocidal? What _happened_ to you in life?"

Red eyes glowed. Frisk flinched backwards. _Mistake, mistake, mistake, Frisk!_

"Don't you even start asking me what happened in life. It's absolutely none of your business whatsoever, and I think I'm going to get to work cutting you into little pieces because of that outburst." 

She came close to him and traced a curved knife around his eyes, bringing it across his eyelids and causing a small trickle of blood to course down his cheek. "Ow!" he wailed, covering his face, desperately trying to wipe away the warm blood. He didn't dare open his eyes yet.

"SANS, NOW!" Undyne yelled.

Chara blinked in confusion. "Sans what?"

A jar of liquid shattered above her head. A few extra drops splashed onto MK's body and Papyrus. The sparkling liquid coursed down Chara's face and she held her hands out, observing it. 

She raised her head. "I would salute you if I could."

Then the girl faded.

Sans walked out from behind the peat block, and Frisk finally opened his eyes a little. The whole world was cast in a grayish tone. _What?_ "hey, kid. i heard most of that. it's a shame about mk, but, maybe he's not a goner yet."

"What do you-"

"see for yourself."

Frisk turned and to his surprise, MK was up and walking! His pupils were gone, and he seemed to still be a sickly gray color, but he was back!

"Hey, Frisk. Have you ever thought about a world where everything is exactly the same... but you don't exist? Everything functions perfectly without you... The very thought terrifies me. Ha, ha," he mumbled.

'What? What's wrong, why is he talking like that?"

Sans grit his teeth. _this is reminding me of goner kid. oh crap, i don't know what to say!_ "i don't know. side effect of the mixture maybe?"

Undyne stood up straight. "Okay, anyone care to enlighten me why I just fought a spirit who possessed my apprentice, nearly got killed myself, and just witnessed a child die and come back to life again immediately afterward?"

Frisk began explaining. He hoped he could lighten the mood between himself and Undyne so she wouldn't want to rip his SOUL out of his body as much.

Meanwhile, Sans approached MK, who was walking away. 

"where you going, kid? someone out there really cares about you."

"Not if I don't exist. See ya around, Sans. Tell Frisk I'm sorry for leaving so quickly." MK saluted sadly before he abruptly turned and ran away.

**_i can tell, gaster, you live on in that kid. you know it's me. he knows too, he wants to prevent me from finding out. gaster, this isn't going to work._ **

**_i'll forever stay a step ahead of you._ **


	28. Ŗ̶͏̧E̕҉͏͘D̵̸̴̀͜Ą̵̛̀͝C̵̸͡T́͞͝E̴͝D̶̸́

The cool mist of the Core drifted up around the figure, buffeting his button-cloak and turtleneck. He slid a finger on the touchscreen and listened to the satisfying gears turning as it rearranged itself. Ǹ͍̼o̦͉̼̣͉͜ͅ ̸̹̪̬̱͚̦͝ò̴͓n̬̰͈̙é̺̟̼̙̭ ̸̛͏̲͇̼͙w̡̪͉̗̘̤̠i̬̼͍͈͝͡l̗̲̘̠̱̕͜͢ͅl͕̦̟̘͠ ͈̬̣̙̰̬͟͡b̴̲̹̰̰̝̮͙̙̻́͢ḙ̥̖̰̀ ̴͙̙͔̭̰̀g̟͕̹̯͕͇̜͜ȩ̸̱̳͈̙̞̱͉̜t̢͏̫t̷̡͎̞í̸͕̣͍͎n̨̞̲͙̮͖ǵ̣̝̗̙͎̜͓ ̨҉͚̠͎̖t̷͙͎͓͚͍͞ḩ̫͔͔̲̘̲͉r̞̼̻̟̟͠͝ơ̴̡͈̬u̴̡̥͓͜g̴̨̢̪̝̥̩̺ͅh͉̳̠̩͟ ̴̗̫̙͔̙h̲̝̼̬̕͝e̗͎͉̪͙̻͍͕r̗̩͚͍̟̥̹͍̕è̛̹͙̰͖̻͙͚ ̣̣̮̜͢n̙͉͖̜̩̰͔ò̷͙̮̱w͔̞̰, he thought, mouth folding up into a smile. 

All of his work wasn't for nothing. The tales had spread, and another human had fallen. The kid knew too much. 

 

W̄̄͆͑́̚͜e̴ͧͩͯ̆̅̂ͮͯ͟͢ļ̨̾̃͐̊̐̚l̷̡̛͒ͯ,̧̉̈ͩͤ́ ̷ͣ͊́̊ͯ̊̓ͩ͑I͗̒̄̇ͭ̋̚͞ ̴̾͛͋͂ͦͨ͢k̈̽̊ͪͥ̄n͆̈ͬ̋̓̊̊͐o̸̸ͦ̎ͭw̸ͯ͆̂͆̒́͡҉ ̴̌ͯ́ͮ̑̌͋͞͏a̶̷ͭͫ̆b̨͐̉͂̎͌̑̕o̷̵̧͑͐u̵ͤ̽̓́͞tͬͥ̋͝ ̍̃̇ͫͤͯ҉҉h̢ͩ̂ͩ͟͡i̡ͪͣ͆ͤ͂̀̐́̀mͪͪ ̸̇͆̂ͮ̄̈̍ͮ̀tͤ͂͗̔̊̏͝őͧ͒̓͊̉͋o̽ͦ̆, he thought, turning the knob that would switch the Core into heated mode as soon as a human's presence was detected inside. I̸̢̧̡̫̬̮̱͔̠̭͍͓̲̳̹͉̰͔͇̘̟ͅ ̴̼̹̭̘̭̥̝̦̣̯̞̙̱͡ͅķ̷̡͔̩̞̤̤̮̝̺̼̩̫̕ͅn҉̷̸̫͕̺͈̪̩̥̺̻̳͓̲́ͅò̡͕͙͎̲͍̮̬̭̪ͅẁ̷͕̪̠̟͔͚̞̖̫̤̠̹ ̷͓̮͎͎̦̺̀h̺̲̥̤̞͕̙̣̳͇̠͓͕̝̪́͢é̛͉̹̞̝̝̲̳̗̟̜͇̻̣̞̦̱͈̕͟ͅ ̧̨̹̩̝̜̦̣̰̭̙̬̙̩̲͈͜͜͝ͅḉ̴̟̦͔̮̪͈̀͞ͅą̧͔̭̦̹͠n̵͉͙̤̬̟̭͠ͅ ̶̮͇̥̹͓̺̙̠͙̼̣͘͡ͅs̶̨͖͍̘͖̘̤ͅa̧͕͓̠̻͔͖͙̮̼ͅͅͅv̶̢̞̲͎͓̘̮̤̫̮̙̣͈̥̝͓̀͟ͅͅe҉̴̣̺̠͕̮̮͚̞͈̯̯͍̩͉̼ͅ,̢͔͇̬͖̜͙͇̪̝̲̲͓̗͔̬̀́͢ͅ ̵̶͖̤̗̱͍̖̞̟͍̫̼̱͇̩̯̳̬͝á̫͎̠͙̥̺͓́n҉̧̮̙̭̖͚̲̘͎̩̦͉̯͚̤͝d̫̳̝̳̗̜͙͔͢ ̷͔͈̬͚̥̭̗͚̘̞̞̻̖̜͍̀́̕͞I̢͖̘̟̦̥̪̟̖͉̫̳̠͔͢ͅ ̸̴̡̺̘̭̭̗̼̻͎̻̦̝̥͡k̷͚̟̩͚̳̯͓̫͟ņ̷̶͔͙̮͍͎͎̘̤͚̬͡ͅó̶̡̹͖̘̫̙͍̹̠̫̳̺̘͉̤̹̕̕w̸̛͓͚̣̫̤̦̰̖͓͙͙͘͠ ̛̭̪̙̯̦̼̩̗̼̝̀͜͡h̝̗͙̪̻̤̞̙͇̦̣͚͍̥̣̮̝͟e̵͔͙̟͉͓̰͇̯̬̪͇͈̟͍̹̕͟͜͠ͅͅ ̨̡̧̞̩̜̮̠͡ç̴̠̬̞̘̬̹͟ͅa̛͓͔̲̝͔̲̣̲̹̫̳͖̼͢͡ņ͕̻̭̺͈̬̀ ̛҉̱͍̩͓̳̼̟̣̥̘̖ć̷̶̮̤͓̬̀ͅo̡̡͕̦̪͔̝̠̭̪̤̱͕͍͉m̴̸̨̢͍͍͕͎͎̪̹͈̩̫̮̙͠e͢͟͏̶̟̰̳̟̗̼̬͇̙ͅ ́͟҉҉̞̜͚̖̰͕̮͉̻̹̰̭̳͙̠ͅb̴̟̤̪͎̥̖̟̫͙̣̫̤̺̬͢a̶̴̡̢̜̭̟͎̩̠͎̟͎̣͚̩̹̘c̵̶҉̡͙̬͎̟̖̰̬̠̪̻͇̬̪̦͉͢ķ̼͚͈̲͈͉̟͜ ̸̢̧̹̙̩̮̣̹̩̥̙̪̥͖̖͉̜͜f̧҉̷͓̩̺̻̝͉̤̥̲̼̰͔̮r̨̺̗̟̙̫̮̹̥̲̮̞͚͍̯̘̠̪͝o̷̡̝͇̬͈͇̖̰͝͡m͏̨͎̻̬͉͎̥̲̮̲͉̖͎̤̦͢ ͏̸̣͖̺͖̪̝̭͈̭̲̱̱̙̯̞b̷̛͈̮̤̬͉͔̪̱͔͕̘̳̦̞́͠͝ͅe҉̷̶̨͈͔̩͈̥̠͖̩̦̮̻͙͓̬̼͍̀í̴̟͚̦͚̻̩̹͢͞n҉͕̰̟̰̗̟̻̳̠̗͜g̴҉̷̸̣̳̘̜̠͎̬̤̺͍̯̼̜̪̗́ ̧̧̩̘̯̟͙̪̝́͘d͞͏̱̥̲͍̝̯e̡̤͕̺̫̘̤̥̟̲̗̕͠a҉̻̻̠̦͕͕͕͔̣̮̠͎̘͜͝d͠҉̸̶͕̲͔̼̙͚̖̻͕̘̙̻̺͓͈͈͎͢.͏̨̩̲̲͇̖

 

J̧͞͏̜̜̯͖̟͉̗̪̭̮̜̬͎̤̬̩̭ͅͅṷ̴̲̱̘̞̀̀̕͞s̷̢̨̛̙̼̣̱̹̪̝ͅt͚͓̞̟̰̬̲͈̕͝ ̶̸̛̣̯͙̻̫̕͝ͅl̨͉͔̫͎̰̰̳̙̭̥̜͡͡͡͞i̶̝̝̣̩̯̗̜̲̹̮̜͘͝ķ̛̬̠̠̥̩̜̮̞͔̞̬͖̪̼́̕͠e̶͘҉̢̯̖͙̟̭͙͔̪̥͇̺ ̡̧̢̜̼͙̠̪̰̠͕͇̩̻̦̪̰̪͜͞Į̷͉̞̬̜̪̭͈̮́ ̡͢͞҉̟͇̗̙̱͎͎̟͙̠̰̬̙̰͓ͅd̶̛̛͈̺͉̫̺̫̗͇̥͔͓̺̫̯̩̝i̵̧҉̛̙̮̜̬̤͇̗͕͓̭͔̫̻̠ͅͅd̴͞҉̤̭̬̬͉̜̖̦͍.̨̥̗̞͓̼̗̥̲͖͕͕ͅ

 

He whisked out of the Core and entered Hotland. He was determined, too, determined enough to bring himself back into a complete entity for a completely selfless purpose. He was merely protecting the king, and he would do that under any circumstances.

He'd seen it so many times. They'd all had the intention to kill King Asgore to save the monsters, which would've been okay if no one had to die.

The figure pulled his turtleneck higher so that it covered his face. At the entrance to the Core stood several monsters. Knight Knight was leaning on her Good Morningstar, looking like she was about to fall asleep. P̧̕͘e͟͝͝͞͡r̸̡̛͜͏ ͏̢҉́t̷̡́͡h̴̛̀͟͢è͘͘͡ ̸̴̀̕͘n̴͏́o̸̴͡͠r̴͘m̡͟͝͞  he thought with a ghost of a smile. Madjick was hovering above her shoulder and polishing his orbs, while Astigmatism clicked its teeth. Whimsalot was curled up next to Final Froggit, both of which were sleeping.

"G̢̕r̵̷̛͜e͏̀e̵͜t͢͜͠i̸̸̸͜n̶͝g̀͢s͏͠͞,̡́ ̛͟f͞͏͠r̛͘͢͠i̴̵̕҉è̸̵̴͘n҉́̕̕͢ḑ͜s͏̨́.͜͞͏͜ ̢͏̸̵Ì͟҉̵͜ ̕͡͠ḩ͢ą͟͏̀҉v͜͠҉̶e͜҉̀͞͏ ̵̵̡̢͠ą̵̕͞҉ ̡́͡f̷̨̢á͞͏͡v̕͘͟o̵͞ŕ͘͢ ̕҉t̶o̕͡ ̷͜͟ą̀s̴̛͞k̵̢.̶̧̕͠" he said, relieved that Knight Knight glanced up and seemed to understand his words. "C҉̶҉o̶͜ú͟͡҉̷l̴͟҉d̷́͢͠ ̷̢́y̢̕o̧͞͝͠u̸̷͢͡ ͟͏̢̛ṕ̵̛̛a̧͘͠t̨͟r͢͜o̴̧l̕͠ ̨̨͘ţ̢̛̛͜h̵̶̵̀͟ȩ ̷́̕͞C̛ǫ͠r̀͘͝e̷͢͞ ͟͏f̶̧͟o̷͟͏r̸҉́ ̢̨̀h͏u̡͘͘͏m҉͡a̡͢͡n̶͜ś̴?̷̶̀̕͏ ̡͘͟͠I̕͠͝ ̸w̕͜͞í̢̀l̨̛͘l҉͟ ̵̡̛̕҉r͏̵̧͟ę̸́͜ẁ̡̛̀͡ąŗ̷̡d̨͘ ͘y҉̡̡ó̵̴̵̵u͟͏̵͞ ̷͘h̵̢̛͜͠ą͠ņ̶̷̕͜d̷̛͘͠s̛̀͜͢o̴̡̨̕ḿ̨͠͡e̢̛͢͜l̷̢̨̛y̴̴ ̷̸̸̧̕i҉͜͠f̷̶̧̛ ̴̨y̡͘o͡͏u͏̶ ̀c̸̢̧͟ą͏p̡͏t̷̛͠ų̛͏r̢̧̛̕̕ę̡́ ̧̢͜͢o͟n̷̕͞e͡.҉̧͜͝"

Astigmatism grinned. "Sounds like a plan," it rasped. 

The figure nodded his head. "I͘t̶̷̨͡'̵̵̨̕ş̴̕͢͠ ̶̧ḿ̨̛͘u̵̵̵͟͠c͏͞h̢͘҉ ̷͜a̵̧̛p̸̨҉p̷̶͟r̨҉́̀͝e̶̢̡͘ć́̕͝͏į̶͢͝͞ą͢͟͠͠t̡̛e̕̕͝͡d̀͞.̀͘͢"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you cant read the text, comment and i'll type it out. also it gives me an aneurysm hehe ^^;


	29. Contract

Undyne's eyes seemed to have glinted at the end of the retelling. "Well. That's quite interesting. Do I at least get Papyrus back now?"

Sans rejoined the group at this point, looking annoyed at something. "yeah. im going to have to bring him back home, though, so he can recuperate. i'll go do that." The skeleton went towards Papyrus and propped him up awkwardly, walking out slowly once that was arranged.

Frisk's blue eyes widened as Undyne turned to him.

"Don't think I'm going to like you all of a sudden," she muttered, casting her eyes down. "You're the reason that kid died. In a way, you might as well have murdered him with your own hands. If anything I want to kill you even more!" Undyne snarled. She went to grab her spear, but she didn't have it; it had dissipated with MK's body. "...Well. I, uh, I guess I need another spear?" she said, blinking. "Uh, battle postponed?"

The boy watched her shamble off into the northwest exit. He himself took no chances. He went up to the pale-colored star from before and pressed his hand to it.

*** A feeling of dread hangs over you...**   
*** But you stay determined.**

_Okay,_ he thought, taking a deep breath. _I guess I'll use the stars as checkpoints. Right now I should probably try to get as far away from Undyne as possible. Maybe the east entrance leads farther into Waterfall._

Frisk checked, and sure enough, a three-way intersection was found in the next room.

The south one led to a little dock on a river where a figure in a long, dark-colored robe stood on his boat. "Tra la la. I am the riverman. I love to ride in my boat. Care to join me?"

"Not right now." Frisk shook his head.

"Okay. Join me later. Or don't. It doesn't really matter."

Frisk smiled at the figure and went back into the other room, this time going to the north. A tortoise-looking monster had a shop set up. "Woah there! I'm Gerson. I've got some neat junk for sale!"

**Crab Apple - 25G**   
**Heals 18HP (Looks like a crab.)**

**Sea Tea - 18G**   
**Heals 10HP. SPEED up in battle.**

**Cloudy Glasses - 30G**   
**Armor: 6DF Invincible longer**

**Torn Notebook - 55G**   
**Weapon: 2AT Invincible longer**

Noticing Frisk's slightly confused expression, the tortoise let out a hearty laugh. "Ya don't quite understand shops yet, do you? Here's a simpler explanation. You can buy items in exchange for Gold, which is earned by encounters with monsters and, for us, bargaining around with crops and such. So are you interested?"

Frisk shrugged. "Sure. Um, here's... 68 gold. Two Crab Apples and a Sea Tea, please?" He slipped the coins into Gerson's hand and tucked the foods into his pack.

"Silly question," continued the child, "do you know anyone who buys things?"

Gerson laughed a little. "I certainly don't, and none of my friends do either. Though, I've heard, if you want to sell something, the Temmie Village is your best bet. Where is it?" He narrowed his eyes slightly. "...I don't remember."

"Well, thanks!"

"Not a problem. Take care, kid."

Waving, Frisk left the room and went to the next. After traversing a short hallway, he found another room. A path made of glowing light-colored stones led straight up to a little group of mushrooms growing together.

He touched them and they lit up, illuminating another path to another patch of mushrooms. _I get it. I just have to touch all of them to unlock the path._

This continued until he was on a long section of the path. The kid started leaning on the right side wall for support, only feeling solid matter for a section of it and then he fell, arm slipping into an empty space.

Frisk quickly righted himself and dusted his clothes off before peering down the hallway he'd discovered. Seeing nothing at first, he ventured down it, emerging in a cavern with-

_No way._

A clan of little cat-like creatures huddled near the wall; upon noticing Frisk, they started squeaking "hOI!" and "im temmie!" to him. They seemed just like normal cats, except they had thin black hair and fluffy dog ears right behind their cheeks. They also wore what were either dark solid-colored long-sleeved shirts or jackets.

 _Okay, who let the crazy cat lady in here?_ he thought in good humor. Nonetheless, he had to push the little Temmies off of him because he was allergic.

Frisk noticed a Temmie sitting in the corner patiently. When he walked over to her, she looked up and said, "tem heard hooman alergies to tem. thats okay. tem alergic to tem too!"

Tiny red bumps appeared on her face.

"hOIVS!"

Another Temmie stood in front of an entrance. "Hi. I am Bob. Feel inclined to examine the Tem Shop, found in the emergence space of this conveniently shaped tunnel," he said.

Frisk shrugged lightly and slipped in. A Temmie with gray hair (a graduation cap perched above it) and a striped shirt or jacket was sitting behind a cardboard box. Hanging on the box was a haphazardly painted sign reading, 'tem shop!'

"hOI! welcom to... da TEM SHOP!" she squeaked. "tem go to colleg and learn many things! learn to sell new item! it... tem armor! tem armor so GOOds! any battle becom! a EASY victories!!! but, hnn, tem think... if u use armors, battles wouldn b a challenge anymores. but tem... have a solushun! tem will offer... A SKOLARSHIPS!" The shop Temmie's mouth curled into a cat face. "if you lose a lot of battles, tem wil LOWER THE PRICE!"

She gasped dramatically. "in fack... PRICE MAY ALREADY BE LOWERS!!"

The armor was only 750G. Frisk piled the money on the box table and the shop Temmie lifted the box to reveal a set of shimmering armor, shining with pale-colored magic. A Temmie face adorned the left shoulder.

"If you don't mind me asking," Frisk said, donning the armor, "who paid for your college?"

"monster came thru here a whil ago! ofered tem some gOOd things if tem sign paper!! so tem signed paper and got go colleg!" she said excitedly.

"...What did the paper say?" _Could it have been Chara? Is she back at this sick, twisted game already, so soon after being benched?_

"tem couldnt tell!" the Temmie giggled. "it was wrote weird... looked difrnt than tem's letters!"

"Oh. Thank you."

"bOI!!"

_I'm onto you, Chara._

**Author's Note:**

> i want to dedicate this to gurosity, s/he has a realLY DANG GREAT fanfic so yeah go check it out :333


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